DUBAI, March 12 (Reuters) - Qatar’s stock market soared on Monday after Qatar National Bank said it would raise its ceiling for foreign ownership, while expectations for more inflows of foreign money lifted Saudi Arabia.

The Qatari stock index added 5.0 percent, its biggest leap since January 2016, in its heaviest trade this year as QNB, the Middle East’s biggest bank, rocketed its 10 percent daily limit.

QNB, in which the government is by far the biggest shareholder, said it would recommend to shareholders increasing its non-Qatari ownership ceiling to 49 percent of capital from 25 percent.

This may have little immediate impact on ownership; at present, foreign and Gulf Cooperation Council investors own only 7.2 percent of QNB, exchange data shows.

But Rami Jamal, portfolio manager at Amwal in Doha, said raising the ceiling was likely to increase — possibly almost double — QNB’s weighting in emerging market equity indexes, eventually causing new flows of passive funds into the stock.

Jamal noted that the Qatari market had pulled back sharply, leaving valuations relatively attractive, after the passing of Qatar’s annual dividend system earlier this year; QNB shares were down nearly 17 percent from their peak in January.

“The market already had good conditions for a rebound when the QNB news came,” he said.

Shares in some other government-affiliated Qatari companies with 25 percent foreign ownership limits also surged on expectations they would take the same action. Industries Qatar jumped 10 percent and Qatar Electricity & Water gained 8.7 percent.

In Saudi Arabia, the index climbed 1.1 percent, surpassing its January peak to close at its highest level since October 2015.

Petrochemicals were particularly strong as National Petrochemical, which had jumped 10 percent on Sunday after reporting annual net profit more than doubled, rose by the same margin again.

Exchange data released after the close on Sunday showed foreign investors were net buyers of Saudi stocks last week to the tune of $115 million, as they positioned for expected decisions by equity index compilers in the next few months to upgrade Riyadh to emerging market status.